It’s been almost ten years since I had a real job. By real job, I mean the get-up-and-go-to-work, work-until-you-finish-your-shift, go-home sort of job. One where you get out of your pyjamas and go outside before starting. Instead, I have made various side hustles into my full time income. I choose when I work each day. I take on small jobs, complete them, then decide whether to take more. I take time off when I want to, and work in the hours that suit me. Sound good? I have to be honest, it is. But it’s not all roses and rainbows. […]

“Isn’t it really expensive?” “I paid over £7 for one portion of chips!” “It’s a once in a lifetime holiday. You can’t afford to do it twice!” These are just a few of the comments I heard when I announced that I had booked a trip to Iceland. People told me that Iceland is expensive – a holiday to be saved for and enjoyed only by those with plenty of excess cash. A quick internet search will tell you that a beer is £8 and a decent evening meal will set you back £30-50. All true. But they’re not the […]

If you’ve spent any time at all reading about F.I.R.E. (Financial Independence, Retire Early), you will be familiar with this question: “What is your number?” What is the amount of money you need to retire now and never work again? How much do you need to put in the magical money pot which will never run out? £300,000? £750,000? £1,000,000? It’s a question which is asked over and over again among FIRE communities online. It’s discussed endlessly. Everyone knows their number. Newbies are encouraged to work it out as soon as possible. It’s a huge, fascinating, exciting, one-day pot […]

First post. This blog is going to be about early retirement. Financial freedom. F.I.R.E. (Financial Independence, Retire Early). Earning more, spending less. Savings. Investments, maybe. I’ll write about all that later. I suppose I should share details of my net worth. My history. Life, work, earnings, savings so far. Income and expense reports. Spreadsheets. That’s how it’s done. I’ll come back to that later too (if I’m honest I only have a vague idea of my numbers right now anyway). Before I start worrying about the nitty gritty I need to ask myself a question. Have I left it too […]